Roses And Thorns

Chapter 31

Karen hanged up with a smiley face after talking to Naz, he was supposed to treat her for lunch but something came up, she took a deep breath when she recalled their little morning kiss, she shook her head.
She took her purse and said goodbye to her assistant and went inside her car, she wanted to drive alone, her guards were following her car with their own car, she pulled up to a restaurant and ordered some food, she was so hungry.
She was in the middle of waiting for her meal when her oh one rang, it was an unknown number.
'Hello?'.
'Karen?, oh my God!, how are you?, you can't believe the trouble I've gone through to finally get your number!'.
She smiled, the blondie of course, she talked to her as she complained on not going to her huge house, she chatted with her for a while and finally had her lunch.
She was now going through some indoor pages on instagram while having a smoothie, her business was finally back to its feet again and she didn't want to back down not now or ever.
She took a sip of her drink and felt a strange feeling of being watched, she looked around and saw no familiar face, she shrugged off the idea and continued surfing, she put her phone in purse and decided to go and use the restroom.

She got out and got a call from a client she has been yearning to meet for a week now, it was an old man in Venice who wished to renovate his old house for the memory of his late wife.
She finally got to the hotel and the waiter led her to the private booth, she let her guards go for lunch since they hadn't had any yet.
She entered and sighed when she found it empty, some lazy client, this always happens or other times they just don't show up completely or a fan of hers shows up.
She ordered water and sat waiting for him, five minutes later, she called the number and found it busy, damn him!.

She tucked back her hair and took a sip of her water, she patted her stomach which was well covered thanks to the overcoat and the loose short dress she'd put on, she still put on heels but no where farther than 6inches or her dad will surely kill her.
She sighed in frustration, twenty minutes were gone now and therewas no sign of anyone coming.
She drank her water and paused mid air when she felt his presence, she could never mistake his presence for anyone in the world not even Lucifer himself, she put down the glass with trembling hands and swallowed hard, he's  here, somewhere, probably behind her. She took a deep breath and waited, waited for her hunch to be a false alarm maybe she'd  just imagined his presence, maybe he's not even there but all her hopes were shuttered off like a candle in a strong wind.
'Karina?'.
She turned and gripped chair in  fear, there  was no mistake in that voice or perfume, in fact she'd  bought it for him, she closed her eyes and said a silent prayer as she felt his movements from her back to her front.
She looked at him  and decided to stand up from the burning chair, the comfortable chair suddenly felt uncountable and hot, she looked at his face which showed no emotion as usual, he was in full black, his eyes cold burning into her soul maybe colder than she recalled, he looked mean and dangerous,  all the events of her last encounter with him flashed her mind, the beating and insults, she closed her eyes tight as her whole body shook in fear and anger.

She opened her teary eyes and saw his face melting, he suddenly looked happy and a small smile was dancing on his pink  lips,  she was confused but when she followed his eyes, she took a sharp breath, he was eyeing her stomach, she'd  opened  the coat buttons when she was drinking water, shit!.
'Karina dusha moya, you...you....look beautiful baby', he told her with a smile that wasn't genuine.

She swallowed hard and took a step away from him, she held her tummy defensively as if protecting her baby from the most cruel monster on the planet. She looked at her husband, he had a deep scar near his left eye, he looked bulkier than the last time she'd  seen him, and he looked really happy to see her.
He smiled broadly at her,
'I....', He looked at her stomach then her lovely face, the woman he'd  forever move heaven and earth for, he had been so happy to hear that he is going to be a father, a dad, he was going to be a father!.
'Please.....sta....y away', she warned shakingly.
He looked so hurt as if she'd  offended him, she looked around for any chance of escaping.
'I own this restaurant for two hours starting now baby, I just want us to talk that's all'.
She shook her head, there's no such thing as talking, he doesn't know what talking is all he knows is  violence and-.
He took a step closer and she screamed, 'I won't let you hurt my baby!!', she looked at the door and it's then that she realised that his men were all over the room, Russians with their dirty blond hair, taller than the statue of liberty and colder than the ice in Antarctica, she looked at them and nearly cried.